Museums & Mobile

Session Title:
“DEVELOPING MOBILE EXPERIENCES & CONTENT”

Session Time:
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
13:30 – 14:45 (NYC time)

Session Chair:
Sandy Goldberg
Content Writer / Producer, sgscripts, USA

Description:
An exploration of how to develop content and compelling experiences for mobile. Includes:

• Creative development processes for the production of compelling content.
• The importance of defining your audience.
• Guidelines on how to produce content and visitor experiences that will be successful on a mobile platform.
• Making a compelling experience using a vendor’s existing mobile system.

Case studies:

1. Developing Experiences for Different Platforms
Tom Grinsted
Multimedia Manager, Imperial War Museum, UK.

Case study to address: A) Designing visitor experiences as a bespoke app. vs. using an existing content template; and B) What makes a compelling mobile experience.

2. Developing a Mobile Experience for Children
Daniel Davis
Media Producer, National Museum of the American Indian, USA.

Case study to address: A) Developing content for a specific audience; B) Content style tips for a children’s experience; and C) What worked, and what I’d do differently next time.

3. Planning to do mobile in-house
Chris Alexander
Project Director, Toura, USA.

Case study to address: Case study to address: A) Criteria for selecting a pre-existing content template for the visitor experience; and B) Content Planning tips when using a pre-existing content template.

---

Learn More About the Presenters:

Sandy Goldberg is an independent museum media writer/producer based in Cambridge, MA, USA.  She’s been producing museum and historic site mobile content for the most forward-looking museums and cultural institutions for over 15 years.  Previously Sandy was Head Writer for Antenna Audio.  She creates content across many platforms, from audio for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to the app for the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.  She’s a collaborator with the MFA Boston as well as SFMOMA, and many other institutions in the US, UK, and Europe.  Sandy wrote the earliest temporary exhibition multimedia scripts for Tate Modern, the first of which won a MUSE award.  While she was based in the UK, she developed many of the early standards and best practices which are broadly used in mobile multimedia content training.  She was also instrumental in the early development of Antenna’s iPhone app for museum clients.  Sandy is known for helping museums create experiences in many different platforms which are surprising, rich in emotional learning, and often use a conversation-based, informal tone to encourage ‘big picture’ cross disciplinary thinking as a way into complex themes and ideas.
See www.sgscripts.net for recent projects and shout-outs.

Tom Grinsted has worked in the heritage, education and commercial sectors as a digital designer, developer and creative manager for the past 10 years. As Interactive Design Manager for the Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk) and through his own business, he has worked on numerous projects specialising in digital engagement for a varied set of clients including The London Olympic and Paralymic Games, EDF Energy, DCSF, COI, HMRC, The Carbon Trust, The Wellcome Trust and Kew Gardens. He is now Multimedia Manager for the Imperial War Museum. He is responsible for in-gallery digital media and online interactives across all the IWM’s five branches (London, H.M.S Belfast, Churchill War Rooms, IWM Duxford and IWM North). He is also responsible for the IWM’s e-publishing and apps programmes.

Daniel Davis is an AAM award-winning producer who has has worked as a media producer for the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) since 1997. He is the producer and creative director for the Infinity of Nations app for the iPhone, the first bilingual exhibition app produced for the Smithsonian Institution.

Chris Alexander is the Program Director for Toura where he is responsible for client relations, product development and business development. Prior to his work with Toura he was the Manager of Interactive Technology at the San Jose Museum of Art where he was instrumental in producing interpretive audio and video content and deploying it to multiple platforms including mobile devices. In 2008, he developed and deployed a first of its kind iPod Touch tour which utilized the museum’s WiFi network to deliver a multimedia tour to museum visitors. Chris is a regular speaker at conferences including Museums and the Web, American Association of Museums and the Tate Modern’s handheld conference Audiotours to iPhones. He has an MFA degree from San Jose State University and is certified in web design through UC Santa Cruz.